Go during what I call the “holiday hammocks” — the weeks before and after a holiday, when there’s a lull in the travel momentum and you can consequently find the best deals.

This is the only way I travel, personally, because I want to get the most for my small budget.

You’ll find that airports are less crowded. Hotels and resorts are vacant and waiting for you. You can get deals on nearly every category of travel, including cruise lines and resorts.

Here are some holiday hammocks when I travel:

The slack period between the end of the Thanksgiving rush and the beginning of the Christmas madness

This hammock is full of bargains, because most people are staying home and getting ready for the holidays. It’s also a great time to find discount entertainment. This used to be a great period to go to Disneyland, until the clever people there realized they could capitalize on it by Christmas-theming the park.

Before and after major holidays can be a great time to save on trips to New Mexico, which has a temperate climate

For example. if you want to graze some art or enjoy the red rocks in New Mexico, you can fly from LAX to Albuquerque one way for $143 on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, according to the search I just made on FareCompare.com

That same ticket would cost you $228 on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, shooting up to $307 during Christmas week.

I once went to Venice, Italy, at this time of year, and it was foggy, mysterious and full of atmosphere. What it was missing? Other tourists. Yes, I had to wear a coat, but when I got cold, I just popped into Harry’s Bar and had a cocktail to warm up.

The weeks after New Year

My kids generally have a week off school right after New Year’s Day, which gives us the delicious opportunity to grab bargain resort prices that typically fall 30% to 60% on Jan. 2.

We couldn’t even get into the Montecito Sequoia resort during Christmas week this year because it was full, but we’re saving half on those high season rates by arriving a week later.

Our cabana on a stunning beach in Thailand at the Narima Bungalow Resort cost around $100 per night when we arrived on Jan. 2, compared to $130 a night that it had cost only the night before.

Cruise lines also frequently have their lowest prices of the year at this time, though keep in mind that winter storms could also make you seasick and keep you off the deck.

A four-night Baja cruise from San Pedro, for example, cost only $259 for the cheapest inside cabin in January, compared to $579 during Christmas week, according to my search on LastMinuteCruises.com.

It goes without saying that this period remains high season, though, for ski destinations and places people go to escape the winter blues.

Just before Easter

April in Paris is wonderful, but it's still pretty great--and cheaper--in March

Late January to the middle of March, after the major holidays have passed but before Easter is a great time to get deals on flights to Europe.

Note that airlines typically raise their fares on March 15 in preparation for the summer season. You’re not going to save money visiting sun-worshipper destinations or ski resorts this time of year, but Venice, Paris, Rome or London can be wonderful even if you have to bring your umbrella. In fact, I’d rather go to Italy when it’s cold than when it’s hot, because I hate tromping around in the heat, and you don’t want to know what Venice smells like then, either.

After Easter until Memorial Day

Right after Easter, people tend to stay home and save their traveling for the summer. People in cold places like Michigan or Toronto have already taken their winter sun breaks and are back to work. This means that sunny resorts from Palm Springs to Mexico the Bahamas drop their prices significantly.

Also ski resorts that remain open see a huge drop in business after Easter, even if there’s still plenty of snow. People stop thinking about snow sports and start thinking about their summer vacations, which means falling prices for you. If you book a bargain ski trip, and buy “cancel for any reason” travel insurance, you can get most of your money back if there’s not enough snow to make you happy

Hands down, my favorite time to travel is the month of May. The weather is nice most places in the world. It’s spring in the Northern Hemisphere, fall in the Southern Hemisphere. In North America, many places are in bloom. The crowds haven’t arrived yet, but even the seasonal summer places are starting to open up. Everyone’s still in a good mood.

I remember one blissful road trip through Northern New Mexico right before Memorial Day, when the weather was simply perfect and we saved half on fancy hotels we otherwise would never have been able to afford, just because most travelers were waiting until the summer.

Right after Labor Day

Talking to other travel writers, there is some disagreement about whether May or September is the best month to travel, but there’s no argument that both are great.

Yellowstone is great in September: Cheaper and much less crowded

High season prices plummet the moment that summer officially ends in people’s minds, and kids go back to school, even though the weather is still wonderful. I had a fabulous week in a cabin near Yellowstone once in September, there was a fall snap in the air, outrageous prices had disappeared, all the crowds were gone but the animals were everywhere. Keep in mind that fall is also spring in the Southern Hemisphere, which means spring blooms and baby animals in far-flung destinations like Australia and Africa.

But, meanwhile, for right now, take a look at the beginning of December as a possible chance to get that fancy resort vacation you otherwise would not be able to afford.

Marla Jo Fisher was a workaholic hard news reporter before she adopted two children from foster care at age 46, picked up a scruffy dog along the way and somehow managed to keep them all alive, at least so far. She now writes the Frumpy Middle-Age Mom humor column that appears in the Orange County Register weekly. Due to her status as the cheapest person alive, she also writes about deals and bargains for the Register, including her Cheapo Travel column which also runs in newspapers around the country. When she's not having a nervous breakdown, she's usually traveling somewhere cheaply and writing about it.

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